1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to surgical forceps for grasping, sealing and/or dissecting tissue.
2. Background of Related Art
A forceps is a plier-like instrument which relies on mechanical action between its jaws to grasp, clamp and constrict vessels or tissue. Electrosurgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to affect hemostasis by heating tissue and blood vessels to coagulate and/or cauterize tissue. Certain surgical procedures require more than simply cauterizing tissue and rely on the unique combination of clamping pressure, precise electrosurgical energy control and gap distance (i.e., distance between opposing jaw members when closed about tissue) to “seal” tissue, vessels and certain vascular bundles.
Typically, once a vessel is sealed, the surgeon has to accurately sever the vessel along the newly formed tissue seal. Accordingly, many vessel sealing instruments have been designed which incorporate a knife or blade member that effectively severs the tissue after forming a tissue seal. In certain instances, it may be necessary to dissect, or cut through tissue in order to reach an underlying vessel (or vessels), or for other purposes.